Engineered Cells to Kill Cancers

Though it has only been tested in cell culture, researchers at ETH Basel Switzerland believe they have a means for converting non-immune cells into synthetic T-cells that can attack tumors. “The researchers have built three additional components into human renal cells and (adipose) stem cells, thereby transforming them into synthetic designer cells that mimic T-cells. One of the components of synthetic T-cells entails molecular antennae protruding well outside the membrane. Also embedded within the cell membrane are antibodies with specific docking sites, which can sense the target structures of the cancer cell and bind to them. The third component is a gene network that generates a molecule complex.” MORE